10-minute climate science

I’m fascinated by the minds of people who worry about the economic effects of global climate change mitigation. They’re worried that alternative energy and various lifestyle changes might hurt economic growth (even though new technologies have a pretty good track record of expanding economies). What do they think flooded cities, the collapse of oceanic fisheries, expanding desertification of arable land, water shortages and droughts, and unprecedented refugee problems will do to the economy?

The science, summarized in this video, is solid. If there was this much evidence that an enemy was about to attack us, we’d move, brother. We wouldn’t let it happen. But we are twiddling our thumbs in a fog of well-funded denialism.

Especially important is the chemical signature of the carbon dioxide emissions; we know the increase is coming from fossil fuel. Which is to say; it was locked away from the biosphere and we’re putting it back, after millions of years. The effect shows up in thousands of ways, from animal migratory patterns and other biological markers, radiative heat measurements, glacier movements, sea level, sea chemistry, precipitation and storm events, and the movement together of atmospheric chemistry and average temperature.

There are a lot of things we need to do but step one is to quit denying it’s a problem, and quit wishing it would all just go away. We just spent three trillion dollars because of 9/11 with… questionable results. Here’s a much bigger, scientifically verified existential threat and we’re still arguing over light bulbs. We need to open the closet door and face it.

At least one scientist is predicting that up to 80% of the earth’s human population could die off over the next century or so due to climate change. I’m no economist, but if that scientist is even half right, such a die off could have a wee little on the economy.